The car ca to a slow stop.
"Sir, I really can’t let you go in there," the driver said, voice tight. "The man inside was dangerous even before all this. Now he has powers no one understands. This is not a place for—"
David glanced at Annabeth.
She shrugged.
"That’s my uncle," she said simply.
Before the driver could say another word, she opened the door and stepped out.
Her foot touched the ground and she stopped.
She stared ahead.
Bodies.
Too many to count.
So unmoving. So groaning. So twisted in ways she didn’t want to think about.
David sucked in a breath behind her. "Holy—"
"He really is a monster," Annabeth said, not scared, not angry. She smirked. "Just like the stories."
She took a step forward.
Then stopped again.
Two figures appeared above, like they had always been there and reality just noticed late.
David’s eyes widened. "Am I hallucinating?"
In the sky.
"He’s already caused chaos," Kahdijah said, laughing. "Still hotheaded. So things never change."
She laughed again, then slowed.
Alex wasn’t moving.
Not even blinking.
"Hey," Kahdijah said, nudging him with her shoulder. "You good?"
No response.
She followed his gaze.
Below.
A girl in a school uniform.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
Standing too straight for soone her age.
Beside her, a boy trying very hard not to look terrified and very bad at hiding excitent.
Kahdijah raised a brow. "Kid looks familiar."
She glanced at Alex. "Yours or Adam’s?"
Alex answered without hesitation.
"Mine."
He was already moving.
Back on the ground.
David’s jaw was still open. "Okay. Okay. This officially beats every movie I’ve ever watched."
Annabeth didn’t respond.
She was staring.
The man descending toward her.
Sa face.
Different hair.
White.
But the eyes.
Those eyes were exactly like the ones in the photos her mother kept hidden. The ones she used to stare at as a child, wondering why that man never ca ho.
Her heart started pounding.
David leaned closer. "Annabeth... he looks like your uncle but—"
"That’s not my uncle," she said softly.
The man landed in front of her.
She didn’t wait.
She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could.
"Dad," she said, voice breaking. "You’re alive."
That was all.
Alex froze for half a second.
Then he hugged her back.
Careful at first.
Then tighter.
Like if he let go, she might vanish.
He rested his hand on her head and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"I’m here," he said quietly.
Annabeth pressed her face against his chest. "I thought you were dead. Mom never said you were alive. She just... she just said you loved us."
Alex closed his eyes.
"I did," he said. "I do."
David stood a few steps away, hands on his head. "This is insane. This is actually insane."
He laughed nervously. "So you’re really her dad? Like actually?"
Alex glanced at him. "You must be her friend."
David straightened instantly. "Yes sir. I an— uh— hi. I’m David."
Alex nodded once. "Thank you for staying with her."
David scratched the back of his neck. "I didn’t really have a choice. She’s scary."
Annabeth sniffed and pulled back just enough to look at Alex’s face.
She touched his cheek like she was making sure he was real.
"You didn’t age," she whispered.
Alex smiled faintly. "Perks of immortality."
Her lips trembled. "Why didn’t you co back?"
Alex swallowed.
"Because I didn’t know you existed," he said honestly.
Annabeth froze.
"What?"
Alex cupped her face gently. "Your mother never told . I thought I lost everything that day."
Her breath hitched.
"She never blad you," she said. "Not once."
Alex nodded slowly. "That sounds like her."
Above them.
Kahdijah hovered with her hands behind her head, watching.
"Well," she said. "That answers that."
She dropped a little lower.
"Nice kid," she added. "Strong soul."
Annabeth looked up. "Who’s she?"
Alex glanced back. "A friend."
Kahdijah grinned. "Wow. That’s cold. We survived death together and I’m ’a friend.’"
Annabeth blinked. "You’re... floating."
"Yep."
"You don’t look scary."
"Give it ti."
Annabeth laughed despite herself.
Kahdijah tilted her head. "Alright, I hate to break up the family mont, but I’ve got my own reunion inside."
She looked toward the building.
Alex nodded. "Go ahead. I’ll be there soon."
Kahdijah smirked. "Try not to cry too much. Makes it awkward."
She turned and drifted away.
Alex looked back at Annabeth.
"I have a lot to explain," he said.
She shook her head. "Later."
She hugged him again. "Just don’t disappear."
He held her tighter.
"I won’t," he said. "Not again."
David cleared his throat. "So... should I be worried about your uncle inside?"
Alex glanced toward the chaos.
"Yes," he said calmly.
David gulped. "Cool. Cool cool cool."
Annabeth finally pulled back, wiping her eyes.
"Let’s go inside," she said. "I want answers."
Alex nodded.
"Yeah and you will get them."
United States of Arica
"Doing that ans wiping out an entire country," the five-star general said. "Nigeria doesn’t stop existing just because we’re scared. I won’t put that blood on my hands."
"That man murdered our people," the president said, voice tight. "He’s holding civilians hostage inside that hotel. He has abilities we don’t understand. Abilities that can threaten us, threaten everyone. If we don’t stop him now, he won’t stop at Nigeria."
"And how do you stop soone like that?" the general asked. "By dropping another bomb?"
Silence stretched.
"You know he survived a nuclear strike," the general continued. "We all saw the reports. If that didn’t kill him, what makes you think another one will? And if it doesn’t?"
The president clenched his jaw. "We can’t sit and do nothing."
"I’m not saying we do nothing," the general replied. "I’m saying we think. Last ti a nuke was used, he didn’t die. He changed. Stronger. Worse. What if that strike is the reason he’s like this now?"
A woman across the table leaned forward. "Are you blaming Nigeria for this?"
"I’m saying actions have consequences," the general said. "If they’d thought it through, maybe this wouldn’t be happening."
"So what’s your alternative?" another official asked. "Let him run free?"
"No," the general said. "We talk."
A few people scoffed.
"Talk?" the woman snapped. "To a man who just tore through an international task force like it was nothing?"
"Yes," the general said. "Because right now, force isn’t working."
The president shook his head. "You want to negotiate with a terrorist?"
"I want to prevent a war we can’t win," the general said calmly. "He wants revenge. That’s clear. He’s not hiding it. He’s not pretending. He wants specific people."
"You’re saying we hand people over," the woman said.
"I’m saying we don’t turn him into our enemy," the general replied. "Because if we do, there won’t be borders anymore."
The room went quiet.
"He survived a nuke," the general added. "If we escalate, and he survives again, then what? What do we do after that?"
No one answered.
The president leaned back slowly. "And if he refuses to talk?"
"Then we buy ti," the general said. "Ti to understand him. Ti to understand what he is."
The president looked around the table. "You’re all asking to trust a man who calls himself the Red Devil."
"I’m asking you to avoid making him the devil of the whole world," the general said.
Another voice spoke up, hesitant. "If we talk... who goes?"
The general didn’t hesitate. "Soone he’ll listen to."
The president exhaled slowly. "And who would that be?"
The general t his eyes. "Soone honest. Soone not threatening him."
A pause.
"And if he kills them?" the woman asked.
"Then we’ll know where we stand," the general said. "But if we bomb Nigeria and fail, we’ll know too."
The president looked down at the table.
"Set up a channel," he said finally. "Quiet. No announcents."
A few heads nodded.
"But be clear," the president added. "If this goes wrong—"
"It already has," the general said.
The president didn’t argue.
"Find a way to talk to him," the president said. "Before he decides to talk to us."
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